A fire extinguisher has four deadlines, and they don't fall together.
Surveillance checks, inspections, overhauls, pressure tests: four different activities, with different intervals and different people carrying them out. Treat them as one and you either do twice the work or find out too late that a date has gone by. Here is what UNI 9994-1:2024 requires in Italy, which day each deadline counts from, what changes for older extinguishers, and what changes in the other countries.
Surveillance, inspection, overhaul and pressure test: mandatory extinguisher maintenance is not one single activity
In everyday speech people say "the extinguisher has expired", as if there were a single date printed somewhere on it. In fact the Italian reference standard — UNI 9994-1, in its 2024 edition — distinguishes four maintenance activities, and each has its own interval.
The distinction is not a formality. The surveillance check is a look that anyone working on site can give; the inspection is a technical verification; the overhaul opens the extinguisher and replaces the parts subject to wear; the pressure test puts the cylinder itself under load. As the depth of the work goes up, so does the qualification of whoever performs it — and the gap between one appointment and the next grows longer.
Hence the most expensive misunderstanding of all: an extinguisher can have a perfectly up-to-date six-monthly inspection tag and still be two years behind on its overhaul. The two dates run in parallel and never check up on each other.
The four stages, by depth
Each stage has its own interval and its own responsible party. The first two can be read at a glance on the service tag; the other two leave their trace on the technician's job report.
- 01
Surveillance check
according to the in-house plan (in practice, monthly)
whoever works on site
- 02
Inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
- 03
Overhaul
60 months for powder and CO₂, 72 for clean-agent types
qualified maintenance technician
- 04
Pressure test
120 months — 72 for water-based extinguishers with plastic-coated cylinders
qualified maintenance technician
UNI 9994-1 doesn't set a fixed number for the surveillance check: it calls for a plan proportionate to the risk, and it's common practice that has made it monthly. Presenting it as a legal obligation with a fixed interval is a mistake you read often, even in good faith.
How often, by extinguishing agent
Inspections and pressure tests depend little on the type of extinguisher; overhauls depend on it enormously. That's the row people miss most often, because it changes from unit to unit even within the same site.
| Type of extinguisher | Inspection | Overhaul | Pressure test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Powder | every 6 months | 60 months | 120 months |
| Carbon dioxide (CO₂) | every 6 months | 60 months | 120 months |
| Halogenated / clean agent | every 6 months | 72 months | 120 months |
| Water-based (water and foam) | every 6 months | 24 to 60 months depending on type | 120 months |
| Water-based with plastic-coated cylinder | every 6 months | 24 to 60 months depending on type | 72 months |
Intervals from UNI 9994-1:2024, in force since 25 July 2024. These are maximum values: the manufacturer's manual, or the risk level of the environment, may call for tighter intervals — never wider ones. For powder units manufactured before that date, the overhaul still follows the earlier 36-month value: the reason is in the section further down. For CO₂ the overhaul was already at 60 months in the 2013 edition and does not change.
Which date each deadline counts from
The six-monthly inspection counts from the date of the last inspection actually carried out — not from the start of the year, and not from the purchase date: an inspection done on 12 February puts the next one in August, and anyone who lets a visit slip by a month carries that slippage forever.
The overhaul counts from the date of the last overhaul or, for an extinguisher that has never been overhauled, from the date of manufacture or first commissioning shown on the unit. That is why an extinguisher bought today but manufactured two years ago reaches its first overhaul sooner than you would expect.
The pressure test counts from the year the cylinder was tested, which is stamped on the cylinder itself: it is the only one of the four dates that depends not on the work done but on the piece of metal. When a cylinder fails its pressure test the extinguisher is not repaired — it is replaced.
The surveillance check, in practice
It is the one stage that doesn't need a technician: six visual checks that a trained person carries out in under a minute per extinguisher. Its job is to catch, between one inspection and the next, the things you can see with the naked eye.
- The extinguisher is where it should be, signposted and reachable without moving anything
- The pressure gauge, where fitted, sits in the green zone
- Hose, nozzle and body are intact, with no cracks or visible corrosion
- Safety pin and seal are in place and have not been tampered with
- The service tag is legible and shows the last piece of work carried out
- Anything wrong is written down straight away, with the date and the name of whoever looked
"Expired extinguisher" almost never means "throw it away"
In most cases it is the overhaul that is overdue, and an overhaul can be carried out: the extinguisher goes back into service. Only a failed pressure test takes a unit permanently out of use, because it concerns the integrity of the cylinder. The second most common mistake is recharging an extinguisher and assuming all four dates have been reset: recharging moves neither the pressure test nor, on its own, the overhaul.
Why the manufacturing date still matters, after 2024
The 2024 edition of UNI 9994-1 didn't just update the tables: it changed the interval of two of the four stages. The overhaul of a powder extinguisher moves from 36 to 60 months (for CO₂ it was already at 60 and stays there), and the pressure test drops from 144 to 120 months. The text came into force on 25 July 2024, but the two changes don't apply the same way.
The pressure test, being the tighter of the two deadlines (120 months instead of 144), applies immediately to every extinguisher, regardless of when it was built. The overhaul follows a different logic: for powder extinguishers already on the market before 25 July 2024, the use-and-maintenance manual still states 36 months — and the manual, when it is stricter than the standard, prevails. The 60-month interval applies to powder extinguishers manufactured after that date, whose manuals already carry the updated figure.
In practice, before stretching the gap between one overhaul and the next it's worth checking two things: the manufacturing date stamped on the extinguisher, and what the manual that came with it says. A powder extinguisher built in 2022 doesn't automatically move to 60 months just because the standard changed in the meantime.
Dates alone are not enough: you need the job reports
Since the DM 1 settembre 2021 the fire safety inspection logbook has been a requirement in its own right, and on the day of an audit what is asked for is not the date of the next inspection but the report of the last one. Keeping the two apart — the calendar on one side, the documents on the other — is the surest way of having only one of them when you need both.
This guide is informational material: it does not replace the standards cited, the manufacturer's manual or the judgement of a qualified technician. ToriSet organises deadlines and documents; it does not certify compliance.
Four different deadlines, one logbook.
The tag on the extinguisher shows the six-monthly inspection; the overhaul and the pressure test, at best, run on a separate sheet. Here is what changes when all four deadlines and the technician's reports live in the same logbook.
Four dates per extinguisher on a tag, and the overhaul nobody checks
Four deadlines calculated from the last job, with the technician's report attached
The fire safety inspection logbook filled in by hand, one binder per site
Inspection, overhaul and pressure-test reports attached to the right extinguisher, found in a second
The manufacturing date stamped on the cylinder, that you have to go and read on site
Manufacturing date and pressure test on the record: the 120-month test is calculated from there
Working out whether an extinguisher is still on 36 months or already on 60 means checking the manual, one by one
The right interval for that extinguisher stays on its record, with nothing to recalculate
What changes from one country to the next.
Service intervals for portable fire extinguishers are not harmonised across Europe: the names of the stages change, the intervals change, and even the source that sets them changes — a technical standard in Italy, an insurance rule in France, a workplace technical rule in Germany, the manufacturer's own specification in Switzerland. Below is the picture country by country; the source that counts is still the standard cited, together with the manufacturer's manual.
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Italy
References
UNI 9994-1:2024
The standard that defines surveillance checks, inspections, overhauls and pressure tests and sets their intervals, updated in the 2024 edition, in force since 25 July 2024.
DM 1 settembre 2021
The "decreto controlli" (Italy's inspections decree): it requires the fire safety inspection logbook to be kept. The requirement to use a nationally qualified maintenance technician (art. 4), extended several times, takes effect on 25 September 2026.
D.Lgs. 81/2008, art. 46
Places responsibility for managing fire prevention in the workplace on the employer.
Intervals
Surveillance check
according to the in-house plan, monthly in practice
staff on site
Inspection
at least every 6 months
qualified maintenance technician
Overhaul
60 months (powder and CO₂), 72 months (clean agent)
qualified maintenance technician
Pressure test
120 months, 72 for water-based extinguishers with plastic-coated cylinders
qualified maintenance technician
NoteThis is the most detailed framework of the five: four distinct stages, each with its own interval and its own record. For powder extinguishers already in service before 25 July 2024, the overhaul stays at 36 months until the manufacturer's manual shows the new figure: the stricter value always prevails.
France
References
Code du travail, art. R4224-17
Requires workplace safety installations and devices, firefighting equipment included, to be maintained and checked at an "appropriate" interval, without setting a number.
Code du travail, art. R4227-39
Sets at least every six months for tests of the equipment and evacuation drills, to be logged in the safety register: a separate requirement from the extinguisher's own technical check.
Règle APSAD R4
The French insurance reference for installing and maintaining portable extinguishers: it calls for a periodic check by a competent technician.
NF S61-919
Defines what the annual maintenance of portable extinguishers covers and reserves the work for a competent technician.
Intervals
Periodic technical check
annual, under NF S61-919 and the APSAD R4 rule
competent technician
Equipment tests and evacuation drills
at least every 6 months (art. R4227-39)
staff, organised by the employer
Surveillance check
according to the organisation's in-house plan
staff on site
Pressure equipment requalification
under the pressure equipment rules and the manufacturer's manual
approved body or technician
NoteIn France the annual technical check comes from NF S61-919 and the APSAD R4 insurance rule, not from the Code du travail: that only asks for maintenance at an "appropriate interval" (art. R4224-17) and sets a different activity, equipment tests and evacuation drills, at six months (art. R4227-39). Always check what your insurer requires, as it may be stricter.
Germany
References
ASR A2.2
The workplace technical rule on measures against fire: it requires extinguishers to be checked at regular intervals, at least every two years.
DIN 14406-4
The standard on maintenance of portable fire extinguishers: it defines what the check covers and who may perform it.
BetrSichV
The German industrial safety ordinance: the periodic checks of pressure vessels, extinguishers included, follow from it.
Intervals
Check (Prüfung)
at least every 2 years
competent person (Sachkundiger)
Visual check
according to the organisation's risk assessment
staff on site
Pressure vessel check
under the BetrSichV and the manufacturer's manual
person qualified under the BetrSichV
NoteThe German benchmark interval is two years. The operator is free to shorten it — and the risk assessment may require exactly that — but not to stretch it.
Switzerland
References
Brandschutzvorschriften VKF / AICAA
The Swiss fire safety regulations issued by the association of cantonal insurance institutions: since 2015 they no longer set a single maintenance interval for portable extinguishers, which instead follows the manufacturer's own specification.
OPI / VUV
The ordinance on accident prevention: it places the upkeep of safety equipment in the employer's hands, without itself setting an interval for extinguishers.
Intervals
Periodic maintenance
according to the manufacturer's specification shown in the extinguisher's manual: since 2015 no single Swiss interval applies to every unit
specialist firm
Visual check
according to the organisation's in-house plan
staff on site
NoteSwitzerland has no general federal obligation on the interval: before settling on a plan, check what your canton's fire authority requires, what the unit's manual says and — for insured buildings — what the cantonal insurer asks for. As a rough benchmark, manufacturers state a service life of 20 years for stored-pressure extinguishers and 25 for cartridge-operated or CO₂ units, beyond which the unit must be replaced regardless.
Austria
References
ÖNORM F 1053
The Austrian standard on checking and maintaining portable fire extinguishers: it sets the periodic check at two years, carried out by an expert, in addition to the operator's own checks.
TRVB F 124
The Austrian technical directive on first-response firefighting equipment: it covers provision and placement of extinguishers, and is also referenced for their periodic check.
AStV
The Austrian workplaces ordinance: it places firefighting equipment, and keeping it serviceable, in the employer's hands.
Intervals
Check (Überprüfung)
every 2 years, under ÖNORM F 1053
qualified expert
Operator's own check
at least quarterly, ideally monthly
in-house staff
Internal check and pressure test
under the manufacturer's manual and the applicable standard
qualified person
NoteThe Austrian framework resembles the German one in its two-year interval, but the primary source is ÖNORM F 1053, while TRVB F 124 remains the reference for the provision and placement of extinguishers.
What we get asked most.
How often should a fire extinguisher be checked?
In Italy UNI 9994-1 calls for an inspection at least every six months by a qualified maintenance technician, plus a surveillance check carried out by people on site under an in-house plan (monthly in practice). Overhauls and pressure tests have their own intervals, of 60-72 and 120 months respectively. In other countries the main interval differs: annual in France, every two years in Germany and Austria.
What is the difference between an inspection, an overhaul and a pressure test?
The inspection is an external and functional check, carried out every six months. The overhaul opens the extinguisher, verifies the extinguishing agent and replaces the parts subject to wear. The pressure test is a strength test of the cylinder and concerns the container, not the charge. Three different jobs with three different dates: having one up to date says nothing about the other two.
Is the overhaul due at 36 or 60 months?
The doubt only concerns powder units, and it depends on when the extinguisher was manufactured. UNI 9994-1:2024 moved the overhaul of powder units from 36 to 60 months, but only for extinguishers made after 25 July 2024: units already in service stay on the 36-month figure shown in their manual, which is stricter and therefore prevails. For CO₂ the overhaul was already at 60 months in the 2013 edition and does not change. The pressure test, on the other hand, is at 120 months for powder and CO₂ straight away, because the new interval is tighter than the old one.
Does an "expired" extinguisher have to be replaced?
Almost never. In most cases it is the overhaul that is overdue, and once the overhaul is done the extinguisher goes back into service. Replacement is needed when the cylinder fails its pressure test, or when the unit is damaged or no longer compliant. A qualified technician decides that on the unit itself, not remotely.
Who is allowed to service fire extinguishers?
Inspections, overhauls and pressure tests are carried out by a qualified maintenance technician: in Italy the requirements are set by the DM 1 settembre 2021, whose national qualification — after four extensions — becomes mandatory on 25 September 2026; in France by NF S61-919, in Germany by ASR A2.2 and DIN 14406-4, in Austria by ÖNORM F 1053. The surveillance check alone can be done by trained in-house staff.
Does ToriSet keep the deadlines for me?
ToriSet helps you keep to them: you record each extinguisher with its type, serial number and location, and from there it calculates the four dates from the last piece of work, warns whoever needs to act in advance, and keeps the job reports attached to the right unit. The work itself remains the responsibility of the qualified technician, and the logbook required by law remains your obligation.
Four dates per extinguisher, times forty extinguishers.
You can't hold that in your head, and on a spreadsheet it gets lost. Put your equipment in a single logbook: the dates work themselves out, the reminders arrive in time and the job reports stay attached to the right extinguisher.
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